On Friday, an Illinois appeals court upheld disgraced actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for staging a hate crime attack against himself. He was found guilty of wasting police time, among other things.
According to TMZ, the three-panel court ruled 2-1 in favor of upholding the conviction.
Smollett was convicted in 2021 and spent just 6 days in Cook County jail before being released while appealing the conviction. With the conviction being upheld, the actor will return to finish out his 150-day sentence.
Smollett’s team could decide to appeal the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, which could then decide whether or not to hear the case.
According to The Messenger, Justice David Navarro wrote that under Illinois law, the 2019 agreement reached with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office "is not a final disposition of the case, and will not bar another prosecution for the same offense."
Smollett was found guilty of five of six charges of disorderly conduct after a two-week trial in late 2021. Smollett claimed that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago, in which he said MAGA hat-wearing white men poured bleach on him, used a rope fashioned into a noose, and hurled racist and homophobic insults at him.
Police were able to discover the identity of his alleged attackers by tracking information on who ordered the Uber that dropped them off.
Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo were identified as suspects, and were arrested when they returned from a trip to Nigeria.
The prosecution has during the trial stated that Smollett hired the Osundairo brothers to stage the attack.
Surveillance footage captured Smollett and the brothers going through a dry run of the attack in the days prior.
In September, attorneys for Smollett requested that the conviction be dismissed, claiming that the actor’s Fifth Amendment rights had been violated.
The actor’s claims were supported by many, including Vice President Kalama Harris, who wrote, "Jussie Smollett s one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery.
"This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate."
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
Powered by The Post Millennial CMS™ Comments
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
Comments